Caroline Detention Facility: Non‑Contact Visits (June 29, 2024 update) — What That Means and What You May Bring

Caroline Detention Facility has made all family and social visits non-contact as of June 29, 2024. If you were expecting a contact visit, adjust your plans - you'll be visiting through a barrier. Any older guidance mentioning contact visits is outdated.

Social visitation runs Saturdays and Sundays, 1:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The schedule includes different time blocks based on custody level, so confirm which slot applies to the person you're visiting before making the trip.

Some older Visitor Info materials describe how contact visits used to work. Under that system, a detainee could have up to three (3) adult and three (3) child visitors for a contact visit.

The old contact-visit rules also covered what you could hand to a detainee. Even then, visitors were not authorized to give anything except food and drink purchased from the lobby vending machines. Outside snacks, drinks, or personal items? Not allowed - vending purchases only.

Under the old contact-visit rules, detainees had to agree to a strip-search by same-gender detention personnel before the visit. If they declined, they could have a non-contact visit instead.

Non-contact means exactly what it sounds like: no physical touch. No hugging, no hand-holding, no passing items directly. Expect a visit through a barrier or other separated setup.

Visiting rules can shift quickly based on what's happening inside. The facility's published rules give the Superintendent authority to temporarily restrict visits for security reasons. If things feel stricter than expected when you arrive - or visits are paused entirely - that's the policy they're working from.

The older Visitor Info had a narrow rule for contact visits: visitors were not authorized to give anything to a detainee except food and drink purchased from the lobby vending machines. Bringing in outside items to hand over wasn't allowed - even under the old contact-visit system.

• ✓ Lobby vending machine food/drink was limited to $20.00 per detainee being visited (this was described as a contact-visit allowance in older Visitor Info).

The old contact-visit policy required detainees to consent to a strip-search by same-gender detention personnel before the visit. If they didn't consent, they could have a non-contact visit instead.

With social visits now non-contact as of June 29, 2024, that strip-search rule may not affect most families right now. Still, it's useful context if contact visits return - or if you're wondering why older documents mention non-contact as an alternative.

1. Call to confirm the current visitation setup - Ask whether social visitation is still non-contact only, and confirm the current visiting hours for the person you’re trying to see.
2. Ask what you may bring into the visiting area - If older guidance mentions vending-machine items for contact visits, check whether any of that applies under today’s non-contact practice.
3. Plan for screening at the door - Visitors and belongings entering the facility are subject to search, and anyone refusing a search will be refused entry. You’re also required to pass through a walk-through metal detector without activation; if you can’t clear it, you may be subject to further search procedures such as a pat search.

• ✓ Be ready for your person and belongings to be searched when entering.
• ✓ If you refuse a search of your person or property, expect to be refused entry.
• ✓ Expect to go through a walk-through metal detector without setting it off.
• ✓ If you can’t clear the metal detector, be prepared for additional screening, such as a pat search.